A Busy Weekend

It was a beautiful weekend.  Tes and I got some more work done in the garden, and we are getting closer to planting!  I finally made and hung the two gates.  I think it really looks nice.  Tes was eager to do something with actual plants, so I put her to work pulling weeds.  What are children for, after all?  I also got the first raised bed built!  I can't wait to transplant my lettuces!  I think I will wait a bit longer though, we have snow forecast this Thursday, ugh!  But it will give me time to get my drip irrigation system working.  Check back soon on the "Breaking Ground" page for the full story of how I am setting up all the "bones" of our garden.  I have learned a lot, and maybe I can pass along some of my new found knowledge.  Here are some photos of our time in the garden from over the weekend.

Playing in the Dirt

Yesterday morning was beautiful, and Tes and I got outside to dig in the dirt.  We turned over the beds in front of the garden fence that will eventually be a beautiful cottage flower garden, I hope.  Tes helped gather river rocks for the border and placed them with precise intent.  Earlier in the day we had been to town and, big surprise, picked up some more goodies for our garden.  Only this time, we didn't get any veggies.  Tessie and I picked out a bunch of bulbs, and even though I knew we wouldn't be planting them for a while, we got started on the the beds anyway.  We also picked up a little Gnome (Christian liked him and I couldn't help myself) and now he is guarding our garden.  I can't wait to see some flowers in here, but for now it's a great spot to play in the dirt.

Waiting Out The Weather

Spring is such an odd time of year.  The warmer days have me chomping at the bit to get outside and work.  One day it's in the high 60s, beautiful and inspiring for working in the garden.  The next day it's literally freezing, and snowing.  I'm going crazy!  At least the inclement weather has kept me from putting too much in the ground, and then loosing it to the cold temperatures.  If I can find a little patience, it will be summer before I know it.  I have been working outside through all the wind, rain, and snow, and I'm ready to be warm, maybe even get a gardening tan.  Anyone else having a hard time waiting out the weather?

Seed Addiction

I stopped at Ace Hardware today to pick up a few things, mostly hardware for my garden gates.  I wanted to get one packet of Sweet Peas to grow along the chicken run, but the seed rack proved to be too much temptation for us.  Tessie picked out two different pumpkin varieties, I grabbed some herbs, and we also made off with two big bags of wildflower mixes.  Sigh, I think I have a problem.

The Beginning

For months, Tessie and I have been talking about our vegetable garden.  We have been planning, researching, and imagining the possibilities.  For me, a vegetable garden represents so much.  It is a piece of my childhood, a way to get closer to nature, the best way to get organic veggies, and one of the greatest gifts I can think of to give my children.  I have been dreaming of what it will mean for them to grow and harvest their own food.  Today, we started the journey.

We had already been collecting seeds, but it was time to get them in some soil.  This is the part where I offer up a confession.  I know nothing about gardening.  For all my dreams of a gorgeous, prolific garden, I have absolutely no idea where to begin.  This is made so much worse by the fact that my mother is a genius in the garden.  She had the most amazing vegetable garden when we were kids, and now, even in the desert, her flower garden looks like a New Mexican Eden.  I have trouble keeping my house plants alive.  But in spite of this, I am determined to feed my family with food I have grown them.  That, and I promised my daughter...

So we stopped in at a local nursery for supplies.  Tessie was jumping up and down with excitement, and Christian thought if she was excited, he should be too.  We got a little advice, some seedling soil, and a few more packets of seeds, then headed home to get to work.  Christian had no interest in digging in the dirt, so Tes and I were on our own.  After a call or two to my mom for some advice, we got to it.  Tessie filled our little pots with soil, stuck our labels in, and, very carefully, placed the seeds in the pots.  The process was long, and she lost interest temporarily in the middle, but she came back around as I carried our future tomato, cabbage, broccoli, lettuces, arugula, and spinach to sit in front of a sunny window.  She watered, and hopefully didn't drown, each pot, then stood back proudly to examine her work.  After she had run back several times to see if they were sprouting yet, I explained we would have to wait about a week.  "And then we will have vegetables!" she declared.  I laughed and gave her a hug.  Our little garden is off to a beautiful start.

Our Adventure

This year I have decided to embark on a new adventure; A vegetable garden!  One of the biggest motivations for me is to have my children grow up not only eating fresh vegetables, but also to teach them that food doesn't come from a store, it comes from the earth.  Almost two years ago, we moved out to "the country" and now have the room to start our little homestead.  I grew up eating vegetables from the backyard, eggs I gathered by hand, and meat we raised ourselves.  I distinctly remember the feeling of popping a cherry tomato into my mouth, it's skin still warm from the sun.  I want my children to have these experiences, to grow up valuing the world around them for what it can provide, if they just make a little effort.  My daughter has jumped into this project with such enthusiasm, that she has grown the spark inside me, to an inferno of excitement over this project.  We have already learned so much together, and I can't help but share our story.  I hope you can find inspiration in our endeavor, and maybe start your own little piece of gardening heaven.